[July 08, 2011] Buick franchise moves to Bennett Tweet Jul 08, 2011 (The Salina Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Two Salina automobile dealerships will change their names and inventory after a deal announced Thursday. Bennett Autoplex purchased the Salina Buick franchise owned for more than 60 years by Warta Buick-Subaru. Jeff Bennett, vice president of Bennett Autoplex, said that the dealership at 651 S. Ohio will change its name to Bennett Buick-GMC. He said that with the addition of Buick, Bennett Buick-GMC will hold both of the General Motors vehicle franchises in Salina. "It's going to complement our inventory of trucks," Bennett said. "GMC makes high-end trucks, and Buick's high-end cars will go perfect with that." Mike Money, owner of Warta, said his dealership at 2222 S. Ninth will change its name to Money Automotive Center. He will continue to offer Subaru and pre-owned cars and hopes to add a new franchise not currently available in Salina. "It's a win-win for both places," Money said. The new Buick vehicles on the Warta lot probably will be moved to Bennett's sometime next week, Bennett and Money said. Bennett said that years ago, the Buick line targeted Lexus as the competition and started producing cars that provided better mileage and better quality than that well-known luxury car line. "Buick is now one of the top luxury brands in the world," Bennett said. "It's the No. 1 seller in Asia." Bennett said Buick focused on improving not just engineering but also quality and, "from everything I've read, they've achieved it." Popular Buick models include the Enclave, a crossover vehicle; the Lucerne, a full-sized luxury sedan; the LaCrosse, a midsized car; and the smaller Regal. Bennett said several other models are in production. Bennett said his dealership will be remodeled to accommodate the Buick line. Money said that although he had not been looking to sell the luxury car line, he accepted Bennett's offer so he can explore the possibility of bringing a new franchise to Salina. He said he is not yet prepared to announce any changes at his dealership. He said Buick owners needing warranty work done on their vehicles will be taken care of at the Bennett Buick-GMC garage. To see more of The Salina Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.salina.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Salina Journal, Kan. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]